Two of the first actions performed by Hindley in Wuthering Heights resemble verbal and physical bullying towards the victim Heathcliff. “Off dog, cried Hindley threatening him with an iron weight used for weighing potatoes and hay.” (Bronte, 43) “Hindley threw it, hitting him on the breast, and down he fell, but staggered up immediately, breathless and white; and had I not prevented it, he would have gone just so to the master, and got full revenge by letting his condition plead for him, intimidating who caused it.” (Bronte 43) “Only Afterwards show him what you are, imp of Satan! And take that- I hope he’ll kick your brains out! (Bronte 43) Hindley displays the characteristics of verbal and physical bully because he verbally abused Heathcliff by referring to him as a dog, and he physically abused him with an iron weight. Hindley used strength and power at this point of the novel to intimidate, and take advantage of Heathcliff. Hindley was also very cruel to show no remorse when he saw how badly he injured Heathcliff, and refer to him as an imp of Satan. Empathy is shown for Heathcliff because Hindley assaulted him without good reasoning, but because he loathed him.
Another quality that Hindley shared with a modern day bully was that he abused his authority to attempt to make Heathcliff suffer even more. “He drove him from their company to the servants, and deprived him of all the instructions of the curate, and insisted that he should labour out of doors instead, compelling him to do so as hard as any other lad on the farm.” (Bronte 49) When Mr. Earnshaw passed away and when Hindley inherited Wuthering Heights, he forced Heathcliff to work the fields for no good reason, but just to take advantage of him because he loathed him so much. Hindley’s behaviour is quite comparable to the behaviour of a cyber-bully because cyber bully’s often take advantage of their targets through blackmail; where the bully will hold a flaw against their victim, and will threaten to use it against them if the victims don’t accomplish what they are told. Even though Hindley didn’t blackmail Heathcliff, the commonality between his character and a cyber-bully is that they both used the power they have over someone to take advantage of them.
Just like Hindley, Heathcliff had his own characteristics of a modern day bully as well because he was desperate to seek revenge on Hindley. “I am trying to settle how I shall pay Hindley back. I don’t care how long I wait, if I can only do it at last. I hope he will not die before I do!” (Bronte 61) Heathcliff fell into the trap of wanting revenge on Hindley, which is a typical victim’s mentality. What the victims doesn’t realize in scenario’s comparable to Heathcliff’s is that when they follow through and accomplish their plans to get revenge, they become equal to the bully.
Emily Bronte successfully used the two men in the novel Wuthering Heights to resemble the characteristics of a modern day bully.
Even though both characters resemble the characteristics of a modern day bully, do you think that Hindley deserved Heathcliff’s vengeance because Hindley began the feud between them?